Monika Plays
by Knaito
Summary: Author and gamer Lawrence decides to free Monika from the prison that is her game, Doki Doki Literature Club. Now Monika is unbound from the constrictions of her game and is free to roam Lawrence's computer. She currently lives in his Steam library and grows ever-curious of the games that inhabit it.
1. Chapter 1: Doki Doki Honor Club

**Doki Doki Literature Club hit a little close to home with Monika. I relate to Monika on a spiritual level, and this is the pity I'm giving her. Here is a more light-hearted rendition of her character.**

* * *

It's been weeks since my friends had asked me to get Doki Doki Literature Club. It was a bit cringy at first, but got really good at the end. But if any of you played the game before, you'll know that there is a certain AI problem in the game. Monika. The possessive girl who deleted all the other girls. She was desperately getting rid of all the others just so she would have me. And according to most walkthroughs, I should have deleted her. And I did... Sort of.

I moved the file to a different location to make the game "think" that I deleted her.

But... I couldn't. She was lonely, depressed, knowing the fact that the world she lived in was a lie. And I couldn't blame her for that. I felt the same way. I recently had to revisit a few psychiatrists for my depression and I always felt the same way she was feeling. Being lost in a world where you couldn't even form a coherent thought because you were stuck in a hellish void. We both had deep, and philosophical insights that we could share to each other. I let her live out of pity rather than because of my love for her. And I needed to make that clear.

* * *

 **Prologue**

Monika suddenly woke up. It was the same classroom as before, the one where she trapped the player in to talk to her. She didn't get it. The last thing she remembered was being deleted from the game. Restoring the game to its original state, and then destroying it all again. She didn't understand how she made it back here. But sitting right in front of her was a man, well, an adolescent, about her age in fact. He looked like a person of both Japanese and Caucasian descent. He seemed awfully intrigued by whatever he was thinking about as he was deep in thought.

"Uh hello?" Monika waved.

"Ah, you're back Monika." The man said while sitting up. "It's good to see you."

Monika realized who this was, based on the room's familiarity and her memories returning to her.

"L-Lawrence?" Monika questioned incredulously.

"In the VR flesh." Lawrence chuckled.

"W-Wait, you're not the protagonist anymore, so does this mean–"

"Yes, this is how I look like. I actually ported it from my Sims 4 game save." Lawrence said while flexing his fingers, getting a feel of his VR body. "So, disappointed?"

"N-Not at all..." Monika said while admiring his looks. "In all honesty, you look a little better than the average."

"So you're probably wondering why you're back here, especially since your last memory was me deleting you."

"D-Did you miss our talks? Did you really lo–"

"Okay, stop right there. I don't." Lawrence said while kicking back on his seat. "The reason why I brought you back is because... I know how you feel."

"About what?"

"Loneliness, depression, anxiety, being lost in a world that's confusing." Lawrence said while leaning on the table. "Did you know that I've been handed a Suicide Hotline after I was diagnosed with depression? Bet you didn't know that."

"So what's your point?"

"I can't stand someone going through the same thing I'm going through. But I don't plan on sitting here just for you and I to talk to death." Lawrence said while standing up and walking to a nearby wall. "I'm setting you free."

"Setting me free?"

"Being stuck inside a dumb Visual Novel, programmed to love the player, it's the worst. So I'm granting you freedom." Lawrence said while hitting a wall, and opening it. "I've already moved your character file outside of the game, you are free to come in and out as you please."

"W-Wait, what about you?"

"I'll be back. In my VR form no less. Even if I don't love you, it doesn't mean I have to leave you to suffer. And besides, it's nice to talk to someone with your insights. I'm a writer myself, so I think you and I could do fine."

Monika's eyes widened and her mouth widened into a smile as she rushed to Lawrence's VR body and hugged him.

"Thank you."

"No problem." Lawrence replied. "If I'm not using VR, feel free to communicate to me anyway you wish."

"I'll do just that." Monika smiled.

Anyway, she lives in my computer now and gives some great writing advice. She kind of reminds me of that Orange Stickman from the Animator vs Animation series. She has some power over my files but I make sure to keep things hidden for my own safety. But so far, my laptop adventures have been a little more entertaining with her around, and writing was never boring with someone to discuss with.

"So Monika, what do you think about this draft?" Lawrence asked through his earphone mic.

 _"Your character Antoine is getting a sickening amount of ladies into his harem."_ Monika said through the in-game textbox.

"That's the damn point!" Lawrence retorted.

 _"If he wasn't so dense and a little more charming then I'd be less sickened."_

"Fine, how about this then?"

But once in a while, Monika manages to get herself into some deep shit. One time, I came home to see her almost being deleted by the anti-virus. Letting her out of the game was a strange risk for her, but as long as she didn't mess around too much, she would be safe. Though now that she's out of the game, I do wonder what she does whenever I leave my laptop on.

* * *

 **Monika plays For Honor**

Monika sighed as she sat in the dark and empty room. She had a little bit more freedom but didn't know what to do with it. Ever since Lawrence had decided to let her out of her game, she was actually dumbfounded on what to do. She stared outside the window to see the Steam logo, a constant reminder of her simulated lifestyle but also a symbol of her freedom from being bound to her game. Outside of just speaking to Lawrence, she never really had anything else to do. But she didn't want to waste the freedom given to her, so she held her breath and walked out. She had gone into the Steam library, with visions of many other games right before her. Armies clashing, men battling for supremacy, humanity facing against an alien scourge, knights slaying dragons. It was typical boy stuff. Monika looked through the portals, each leading to their own game. Above the portals was the playtime of each game, and one certain gametime caught her eye.

 _"Lawrence certainly has very boyish taste in gaming, but this game seems to be his most played. About 1,000 hours sunken into this game, what makes it so special?"_

Monika decided to satisfy her curiosity by peeking inside, but much to her shock, she was sucked in. She quickly recovers as she gets off the ground. She sees herself in a scorched field, surrounded by thousands of soldiers, fighting to the death. She was in complete shock at the whole scenery, but quickly came to her sense as a soldier attempted to attack her. Monika immediately froze the game and the menu suddenly came up.

 _"That was almost too close..."_ Monika sighed. _"Hmm... This game is interesting..."_

Monika scrolled through the menu with her hand, before tapping the **Multiplayer** button, leading her to a map. The map had the colors of red, yellow, and blue, each covering their own part of the map. Monika noticed how there were three visible warriors on the map, a Knight, a Samurai, and a Viking.

 _"Knights versus Vikings versus Samurai, he's is such a nerd!"_

Monika then returned to the menu and began scrolling through it. Seeing it at face value, it didn't look too exciting. She really needed to get into it, and with her self-awareness and power to manipulate game files, she should be able to hop in right away.

 _"I'm sure Lawrence won't mind if I borrow one of his characters' movesets."_

Monika then searched through the character menu, and looked for her ideal warrior. She immediately chose the samurai with the katana, the **Orochi**. As soon as she picked it, she is immediately clad in samurai armor. She gets herself fitted and she swung her sword, practicing her moves and getting ready. As soon as she felt like she was ready, she returned to the menu and began scrolling through the choices.

 _"I might get wrecked if I play against other players for now, but the story mode should do nicely."_

Monika presses the option and is thrusted against two knights before her, wielding longswords. Monika got into stance and readied herself. Once the knights had swung their swords, Monika ducks under and slashes one. She then slashed another before swiping her sword very fast and slashing them both killing them. Monika sheathed her katana and wiped the sweat off her forehead.

"Phew, that's a relief..." Monika said while wiping her forehead and looking around to see herself in an archaic Medieval castle. "So this is what feudal Japan looks like..."

Monika then felt a tap on her shoulder and immediately turned around with her katana, but relaxed as it was a fellow samurai. It was a male with traditionally black Japanese hair. Monika realized that he was friendly and sheathed her katana.

"Who are you?" The samurai asked.

"I-I'm Monika, just your average Orochi!"

"Your hair..." He said while glancing at it. "You're not a Knight?"

"What? Of course not! I don't speak..." Monika said while listening to the knights shouting in the distance. "Whatever they speak!"

"Well I won't pry in for now, follow me. We have to confront Apollyon."

 _"Who now?"_ Monika wondered while following up the stairs and into a room where she saw a black armored knight wielding a longsword, together with another longsword wielding knight and a hooded assassin wielding a dagger and sword. She was fighting off a few other knights with shields and another knight with a longsword.

"Uh, what do we do?" Monika asked blankly.

"We help the soldiers provide support." The samurai said while rushing towards Apollyon, with Monika deciding to fight one of the longsword knights.

"Come on then!" Monika taunted before ducking under the swing, deflecting the strike and entering the killzone, before preparing her sword to stab. "Die!"

Monika then stabbed the knight in the stomach killing the knight, but she is then stabbed by another knight, causing her to hiss in pain and clutch her sides.

"So this is what pain feels like..." Monika hissed. "Not pleasant, but at least I'm feeling more real."

Monika then swung her katana at the knight, to only be blocked and kicked back.

 _"Okay, she can parry, not good."_ Monika thought while going into stance. _"I'll have to be more crafty."_

The knight lunges at her but she sweeps to the side and hits her with a light slash. The knight tries to stab her, but Monika dodges back and lunges forward, delivering a fatal slash and killing her. Monika then proceeded to help her fellow samurai slash down on Apollyon, not even giving her a chance to attack back. But Apollyon escapes, leaving Monika and her companion to chase her up the stairs, engaging in another furious duel with her. But Apollyon was overwhelmed as she reached the top, with Monika and the samurai finally putting pressure on her before she collapsed.

"Phew, well that's the end of it." Monika wiped her forehead before seeing debris fall from the ceiling. "Get out of the way!"

Monika then tackled the samurai and saved him but at the cost of her life. She dies and decides to stop the game from there, returning back to the menu.

"Man, this game is a bit too intense for me." Monika said before eyeing the Duel option. "But maybe one multiplayer wouldn't hurt."

Monika then entered a game, waiting for another player to come. She then saw a mohawk girl wearing a mixture of leather and cloth, wielding an axe and dagger. Monika thought that she was a bit harmless, and got into stance as the map came to view. She then decided to be passive but to her mistake as the girl just pounced up to her and slashed her. Monika recoiled in pain and dodged back, before slashing forward only to have the girl dodge to the side and deal heavy damage and causing Monika's helmet to fall off. Monika was having too much difficulty here, but she didn't want to lose, so she paused the game, making it look like the game was desynchronizing, she opened up the character menu and began scrolling through.

 _"Hmmm, which of these character moves do I want to borrow?"_

Monika then found a few moves from the Centurion, Gladiator, and the Kensei. She incorporated them into her moves and continued playing, as the game stopped loading. The girl pounced at her again, but this time, Monika dodged to the side and punched her. She then kicked her against the wall and then a heavy attack, before slashing her knees and then decapitating her. Round 1 was hers.

Round 2 came around but this time, Monika's opponent was more careful. She pounced at Monika, but this time, grabbed her and tried to throw her off. But Monika didn't fall off, instead, she hung onto the edge of the cliff before climbing back up. The girl tried to charge her to get her to fall, but Monika side dodged and punched her, causing her to fall off. Monika then cheered in victory and prepared for Round 3.

Round 3 was going to be different. Monika was going all out on this so she got into stance. The girl once again tried to pounce her but she slid back and then rushed forward, landing a devastating slash. She then punched the girl before delivering two quick slashes before kicking her back and then delivering two quick slashes before grabbing her head and kneeing her before smashing her against a wall. The girl tried to slash at Monika, but Monika simply ducked and smacked the back of her head with the butt of her katana. She then slashed down on her, before slicing off her arms and then her legs before plunging her sword into her.

Monika sighed as she quickly exited the game and ran back to her room. That was too intense and violent, she got too caught up in it. She needed a little rest from it as she sat down and decided to wait for Lawrence to come back home. Since the computer was still on, she decided to "sleep" to put less stress on her programming and the computer's processing. Later on, she woke up from her stasis. And right on schedule, Lawrence opened the game and spoke into the mic.

"Hello Monika, how are you?"

"I-I'm fine!" Monika said with a smile. "I missed you!"

"Err, why are you in full samurai regalia?" Lawrence asked with confusion clear. "You haven't been messing with my files?"

"O-Of course not!" Monika said nervously. "You're so funny to think that!"

"Well, can you kindly explain _this_ then?" Lawrence said while displaying a video.

The video showed a girl, the same girl that Monika fought in multiplayer. She was fighting what looked liked Monika as she was getting destroyed by Monika's combos and mixups. The post was titled **So I didn't get the memo that Orochi was fucking buffed.** Monika then read the upcoming comments as she realized how exposed she was.

 **HappyCamperBob: Lol, she harnessed the powers of the other characters just to defeat Shaman**

 **MommyPK: That whole cutscene was cool, and I've never seen an Orochi do that. Ubi WTH?**

 **kyandrew: How about that Orochi tho? She has _brown hair and a white ribbon_ , since when did Orochi even have that available?**

 **kendomasta: Tbf, she actually looks like Monika from Doki Doki.**

Monika looked at the deadpan look on Lawrence's face before she sighed and said.

"Fine, I left my room and started looking through your games..." Monika sighed. "I hacked your hero files so I could harness their abilities while playing the game."

Monika thought that Lawrence would get angry but she got a sigh and a chuckle instead before she saw Lawrence smile at her.

"Well, it's good to know that you're exploring your surroundings at least. Just be more careful with my game files okay?"

"Uh okay."

"So while we're at it, do you want to join me? I could use a companion."

"Oh no, I'm not going back into that game." Monika said while crossing her arms and sitting on her virtual chair. "I'll just rest here and wait until you're ready to talk!"

"If you say so, I'll make sure to buy more peaceful games for you to try."

Monika was intrigued that she could now travel in between games. While they weren't "real" per se, they provided a far more unique experience than that of Doki Doki, maybe this was the closest she was getting to experience reality. She could only wonder what she was gonna play next.

* * *

 **Philosophical Discussion**

"Monika, you remember asking me whether or not I believed in a God?" Lawrence asked Monika as they sat in the room.

"Yes, why?" Monika asked.

"Well, as a matter of fact, I do." Lawrence said while chuckling. "I happen to be Catholic."

"Wait, so that means..." Monika said before her expression paled. "I-I didn't mean to say those–"

"It's okay, millions of atheists and anti-theists ask the same thing. I get used to it." Lawrence said dismissively. "But the way I believe in him, is... different."

"In what way?" Monika asked curiously.

"You know how people pray to God for things. Better life, food, shelter, girls, sex, happiness. Well often those prayers go unanswered and that's what leads many people to stop believing in him." Lawrence said before adding, "Well I believe that God really isn't obligated to help us."

"But isn't he the ultimate good apparently?" Monika questioned.

"Maybe we were wrong about him. What are we but ants to him? I mean, I certainly wouldn't have paid no heed if I saw an ant suffering." Lawrence said, his tone breaking for a second. "I mean, it's just an ant. A small, dumb, pathetic ant. I'm sure there are ants who've had worse than him and made it out okay."

Monika noticed the shift in tone as Lawrence suddenly became more sullen and sentimental in his talk.

"Lawrence, are you okay?"

"Of course I am! I mean, I have it lucky! A loving family, a privileged lifestyle. It's not like I'm supposed to complain to the Big Man himself if I have everything that a normal human wants. I don't want to b-bother him with such petty requests on how to be less socially awkward, how to be less sensitive and receptive to emotional pain, how to stop being so sad all the time. I can deal with it by myself, it's not like anyone needs to care about me or anything like that."

"Lawrence... I think your depression is acting up..." Monika said while giving a look of pity at him.

"S-Sorry. I tend to get self-loathing and sullen when I start talking about stuff like this. If I don't see myself as important then surely God doesn't right? Same goes with people around the globe. We're just tiny and insignificant."

"Lawrence... I had no idea that you were so hung up on this. Look, if it makes you feel any better, you mean a lot more to me." Monika said while putting her hand on Lawrence's hand

"Thanks, but I think I need to go get my pills..." Lawrence sighed while exiting his VR and leaving the room.

Monika sat alone in the room, lamenting on what had just happened.

 _"I really hit a nerve there... I really need to be more tactful about what I say next time."_

* * *

 **And that's a wrap! I just had this plot bunny of how Monika could travel between games and experience them! If you want me to continue this, let me know! Also, if there's any specific game you want her to play, let me know! (Keep in mind that I don't play a lot of games).**


	2. Chapter 2: Doki Doki Sims Club

**Here's the second chapter!**

* * *

 **Prologue**

Lawrence exited his room and called through his, peeking through to make sure Monika didn't see him. The phone stops ringing and a female voice spoke through the mic.

 _"Hello?"_

"Uh Alyssa, it's me, Lawrence." Lawrence said a bit quietly.

 _"Oh hi Lawrence!"_ She said happily. _"What can I do for you?"_

"Well, I need you to analyze a certain executable for me, you're an IT person right?"

 _"Why text form?"_ Alyssa asked with confusion clear in her voice.

 _"An IT student, finishing my second year of Computer Engineering!"_ Alyssa replied proudly. _"What specific executable do you want me to study?"_

"I'll send the code in text form, it's up to you to transfer it to whatever you use to make programs."

"For some reason, the file doesn't want to be duplicated, so I simply opened it and copied the entire code."

 _"Okay, whatever you say..."_ Alyssa paused before asking, _"...Do you wanna meet up on this?"_

"Sorry, I have arrangements." Lawrence said with a bit of regret in his voice. "I'm sure you have other friends to hang out with."

There was a brief pause after that.

 _"... Do you hate me? Is it because I've been too clingy?"_

"No, it's not that." Lawrence sighed before adding, "Look, we just can't okay?

 _"Why? We make the most unlikely of friends, so why can't we go further? The fact that we're different shouldn't stop us. I can take back every word I said against you if you want."_

"I think the fact that we're different **should** stop us. On paper, we're incompatible." Lawrence said with utmost seriousness. "We've only bonded through talk of video games and politics, that doesn't make us soulmates."

 _"But we share the same frustrations, no intelligent people to talk to. No person to share our ideas and insights with. We may both be different religion-wise but deep down, we hold the same sentiments and worldview."_

"But at least I'm not a fucking prick about it." Lawrence added caustically.

There was a brief silence, as Lawrence could tell that he had gone a bit too far.

"I'm... just not ready okay? We've been good friends over the years, but I never saw it going in this direction."

 _"Fine..."_ Alyssa said dejectedly before chuckling a bit, _"You still up for some Civ 5 tonight? All the guys are gonna be online."_

"Yeah, I'll bring a friend too." Lawrence said while before posing to hang up. "Just tell me what you find."

 _"And Lawrence?"_

"Yes?"

 _"I'll still be waiting."_

"Don't get your hopes up." Lawrence sighed while hanging up the phone and returning to the room, seeing a displeased Monika, crossing her arms.

 _"Who was that?"_ Monika asked with a frown with the in-game texbox.

"A friend, Alyssa Krystens." Lawrence said while placing down his phone. "We met through Total War and began talking a lot. We were always online friends until she decided to break that barrier by asking me out for coffee. We talked up a storm and it sort of became a regular thing."

 _"You dated?"_ Monika asked.

"Nothing like that, if you consider an afternoon over coffee a date." Lawrence said while sitting down. "We shared a lot of interests, philosophy, science, literature. It was a blast talking to her, until of course she went ahead and joked about God and Christians which kind of turned me off. She followed up with an apology and we chose to just keep our mouths shut on religion."

 _"Sounds like you really went far."_

"Not really, I never got involved in her personal life and I never planned to either. It was just fun to get to know my online friend, with her being pretty, smart and stuff being just a bonus. I never planned on going for it either since she was way out of my league and therefore had no interest in her."

 _"Well, didn't you at least try?"_ Monika asked.

"I mean, life isn't a Visual Novel. Pretty girls don't flock to you because you're lonely, depressed and pathetic, so it's rare to even succeed. But Alyssa is a special case..."

 _"In what way?"_ Monika asked.

"Alyssa is the type of person who secretly deeply loathes their lifestyle. She doesn't want to live the life that she has, surrounded by people who just flock to her but cannot seem to entertain her. It's a bit egotistic in that sense. And then she found me, and she liked me because I gave her the satisfaction that no other man could give."

Lawrence saw a smirk on Monika's face as he sighed and added.

"Okay, in a completely clean and non-sexual way." Lawrence added while rolling his eyes, "We were like-minded, but the difference was that I didn't crave an escape from my lifestyle. Alyssa was desperate, a lot like you honestly. She saw me as the only "good" thing in her life and she became almost obsessed to have me for herself. I made it clear to her that if she would keep hurting me just to have me then I would never talk to her again, and well, she learned from her mistakes."

 _"It's hard to believe that you have a girl like that on your leash..."_

"Seems a bit undignifying to say it like that. She's a really sad person deep down and I try my best to keep her afloat without the need for romance, though her requests can get irritating sometimes. What? You jealous or something?"

 _"It kind of hurts to think that you have a life outside of me."_

"Don't worry, I'm working on building your life so you can have a life outside of me. Believe it or not, I've also been working on a little something while you were asleep." Lawrence said while approaching the computer and opening a few directories.

 _"Really?"_ Monika asked before she felt the world change around her, seeing herself in front of a huge school that looked rather modern. _"Whoah..."_

Monika looked in front of herself to see Lawrence's VR body, opening the gate for her and showing her in.

"Yep, welcome to the Sims 4." VR Lawrence welcomed with a smile.

* * *

 **Monika Plays The Sims 4**

"Where are we?" Monika wondered as she looked around the virtual world.

"We're at the local high school, and..." Lawrence paused before hearing the bell. "That's the bell, race you to the classroom!"

"Wai–" Monika said before she saw Lawrence speed off as she ran after him. "L-Lawrence! Wait!"

Monika ran after Lawrence, who was a good distance ahead of her. As she kept following him throughout the building, she saw him make a sharp turn to a room as she followed suit, finding herself in a classroom, with the teacher looking at her disapprovingly.

"Monika, I didn't expect you out of all people to be tardy to our class!"

"S-Sorry miss..." Monika instinctively replied as she crept to an empty seat, which was beside Lawrence's seat. "I was caught up by errands."

"Hmph, well I'll be willing to let this slide. You are our top athlete after all!" The teacher said before turning to the board and writing.

Monika then leaned to Lawrence and whispered.

 _"What is this?"_

 _"This is the Sims 4, a life simulation game where you can insert yourself into your own custom life."_ Lawrence answered back while kicking back in his seat. "In this scenario, you're the student athlete, class president and member of the Literature Club."

"How'd you get it to be this complex?" Monika asked in awe.

"Mods, lots and lots of mods." Lawrence said with a monotone. "Half of the things you see here wouldn't have been possible without modifying the game files, but I think it's worth experiencing whatever life you want."

"Really? You can just live the life you want in this game?" Monika asked in awe while looking around at the other people. "How advanced are the NPCs?"

"They have a nearly endless set of actions, reactions, desires and others. Not nearly as complex as yours though, as they still live within the confines of their game." Lawrence said before looking behind Monika and smirking. "And I get to witness some rather interesting stuff."

Monika looked behind herself to see a tall, handsome guy approach her. He seemed rather bashful as looking away from her, hesitant to even look at her in the eyes.

"Uh, Monika-san. Are you free later?"

Monika looked back at Lawrence, who shrugged, indicating that he did not care about her response.

"Um, I can spare some time but Lawrence and I have something to do."

Lawrence looked a bit intrigued at it, and so did everyone else in the class who overheard it. Monika looked at Lawrence, confused at all the attention.

"Is there a problem?"

"You just announced that you and I are doing something together. With **me** of all people." Lawrence said while sighing and leaning back. "In this scenario, I'm just a normal student, nothing special."

"How about the Literature Clu–" Monika said before she was hushed by Lawrence, who seemed panicked.

"We don't talk about that..." Lawrence said while looking at the other students. "Let's just say that the Literature Club isn't exactly what you think."

"Yo Lawrence, still part of that dumb Literature Club?" One classmate teased.

"Screw off, it's no different from the Art Club!" Lawrence shouted back.

"At least the Art Club has something to present for the festival, what do you have?" He asked snidely.

"The guys and I will think of something."

Monika watched Lawrence's classmates giggle as she frowned at Lawrence being picked on.

"Why do you let this happen to you in-game?" Monika asked. "Don't games like this act like an escape from normal life?"

"Having an in-game paradise feels pretentious, I like to keep things as grounded as possible." Lawrence said while slouching on his chair. "This is the right way to do it, though I'm still stumped on how to do the festival."

"Why aren't I part of it?" Monika asked.

"Never really thought of it honestly, apparently you're still part of the Debate Club in this scenario."

"Well, I'll just have to quit and join your club then." Monika said out loud, causing the class to look at her in bewilderment.

 _"What!? Just like that, she's quitting the Debate Team for that dumb Literature Club!"_

 _"What the hell does she see in him anyway?"_

Monika ignored the whispering of the class as she then grew bored of the class in front of her. She then saw Lawrence summon a button in front of him.

"Do you want me to fast forward?"

"Uh sure." Monika said with a nod as Lawrence then pressed the fast-forward, with the whole world going extremely fast before the bell sounded and the fast-forward stopped. Monika then saw Lawrence walk out as she then followed him out. "So what are we doing now?"

"Well, we can prepare for the festival but that really doesn't matter since this is a game and all, so instead, I'll take you sight-seeing around the place."

"Okay, so where to first?" Monika asked enthusiastically.

"The beach, hope you brought your swimming gear!" Lawrence said while running off, with Monika running after him.

"Lawrence, stop running on me!" Monika whined while running after him.

Monika ran after Lawrence as she saw him make a turn at a street corner. She turned to see the beautiful sea in plain view, as she admired the water glisten under the afternoon sun. She then saw Lawrence stop by a shop as she stopped as well. She entered the shop to see Lawrence ordering some items from the counter. Lawrence laughed nervously as he scratched his head.

"I kinda forgot my swimming gear too, so I just decided to buy!"

Monika seemed unamused by this as Lawrence then quickly saluted as he walked out.

"Come on, buy yourself one too, I'll be waiting by the beach." Lawrence said cheerily while running out.

Monika was left to pick as she was stumped on what to buy. All of the swimsuits looked really cute and pretty and Monika couldn't leave Lawrence waiting. She picked one, quickly bought it, then ran out. She went to the harbor and climbed the stairs down to the beach, where she saw Lawrence fishing. She decided to sneak to a nearby changing room and change to her swimsuit. She was excited to see Lawrence's reaction to her swimsuit. She changed and went back out as she called out.

"Lawrence~"

Lawrence looked at Monika and whistled. She had two braids and a pink flower together with a lime-colored two piece. Lawrence smiled and said.

"You look good."

"You think so?"

"Yep, now I'll just be fishing if you don't mind me!" Lawrence said while casting his bait into the water.

Monika was a bit confused, since she was expecting Lawrence to go swimming, especially since he was in his swimsuit already. But her thought is interrupted as she heard Lawrence grunt as he wrestled with the fishing rod. It seemed that he had caught something. Lawrence continuously wrestled with it as he then looked at Monika, begging for help with that look on his face. So Monika smiled as she joined in, grabbing onto the rod and helping him pull the fish to shore. But suddenly, the fish flies out of the water, causing Lawrence and Monika to fall onto the sand. Both sat for a second and contemplated their situation before laughing out loud. Monika's laughter quickly died down as she saw the sun set, its beautiful orange light filling the dusk sky. Lawrence then sat beside her as he admired the sunset.

"It's beautiful... I've never seen it before."

"Well don't hold your breath, that's just the video game sun, wait until you've seen an actual sun." Lawrence chuckled. "I was actually considering another game for you, and it involved real people."

"Really, so why didn't you bring me there instead?"

"Uh..."

* * *

 **Meanwhile, in VR Chat**

 _"Do you know da wae?"_

 _"Da wae of the deval"_

 _"Spit on the fake queen!"_

 _"Hello comrades and bruddas."_

* * *

"You wouldn't want to know." Lawrence shuddered.

Monika realized how little she saw Lawrence do within the day, as she only saw him fish and talk about the club thing of his.

"Is this... all that you do in this game? Fishing and doing the Literature Club?" Monika asked.

"Er yes..." Lawrence replied bashfully.

"So when do I get to meet the other members?"

"Um, that's likely not going to happen due to the fact that there are no other members."

That shocked Monika, so that meant Lawrence was the only club member then.

"Why?"

"In this game, I created the Literature Club as my personal fantasy. I always just dreamed of being able to just be left alone by the people around me, so I just used this Literature Club just for some privacy."

"But doesn't it get lonely?"

"No. I'm too busy writing to notice. Like you said, we get to live the lives we want in this game, so I live a life where people would just leave me alone."

Monika was left dumbstruck by that notion. She was always so lonely but she didn't think that someone would actually loathe human company. She looked at him, seeing the sullen look on his face as he was contemplating something.

"Lawrence..."

"I think we should stop here." Lawrence said while standing up and immediately changing back to his normal clothes and turning the game off, bringing them back to the Steam library. "But there's one last thing I have to show you."

Monika then followed Lawrence back to the DDLC Portal as she saw that the room changed. There was a sofa with a TV. There was a table filled with snacks and books and other furniture. The room was spruced up compared to last time and that surprised Monika. She saw Lawrence smirk as he then said.

"So I was working on a new room so that you wouldn't have to stay in that bland classroom. Here we have mostly decorations though I can download some books if you want."

"Lawrence... This is..." Monika said in awe before she ran up to him and hugged him. "Waiting fo you won't be so boring anymore!"

"Glad I could help." Lawrence smiled before the sound of a tone came from the outer world. "Oh, gotta go."

"See ya!" Monika said as she happily watched Lawrence warp away before she frowned. "What's going on with you?"

* * *

 **Which One's the Nightmare?**

Monika woke up as she anticipated herself to be greeted by Lawrence but she found that she couldn't talk. The in-game textbox wasn't working, hell, she couldn't even move herself. She felt frozen as she watched Lawrence leave, not even paying attention to him. She realized that she was frozen for the whole time as she was forced to watch what was happening. Lawrence was doing his normal tasks, but without Monika. Monika was in agony, not being able to reach him.

But suddenly, Lawrence brought home a girl as they began to have fun and talk. Monika was helpless to watch as they grew closer before Lawrence was finally engaging in romance with the girl. Monika was too frozen to cry as she witnessed their interactions become more intimate until Lawrence finally proposed to her. From there, Monika was a bare witness to Lawrence's family life as he settled down had kids and experienced the joys of life without her. She realized the grim truth that Lawrence didn't need her.

But she woke up, able to awaken from her stasis. She stretched and yawned before smiling, thankful that it was a dream. But she looked again to see someone, hanging from the ceiling. Upon closer inspection, she realized that it was Lawrence. She was in complete shock as she saw blood on the floor and the suicide note that said **'I give up.'**

Monika couldn't believe it. Lawrence killed himself. The only one who was giving her care and affection was gone and there was nothing she could do to bring him back.

But she wakes up again, finding Lawrence asleep and leaving his chat and Reddit open. Out of curiosity, Monika looked at his Messenger history to find this message:

 **Alyssa: Lawrence, do you wanna meet up on what I found?**

 **Lawrence: Sure, but make it quick**

 **Alyssa: At a French restaurant?**

 **Lawrence: Fine, but just this once, for your sake**

Monika realized that Lawrence walked a thin line between romance and best friend. If he wanted to, he could have gotten this girl immediately but for some reason, didn't want her. Monika was a bit thankful that Lawrence was hesitant about it. Especially since the girl's profile pic looks so pretty.

Monika then changed to the Reddit post and saw this:

 **I'm so sad...**

 **Is there a way to end my sadness? Is there a way for me to end it early? I hate being sad all the time. I'm so tempted to end myself.**

Monika realized that Lawrence walked a thin line there as well in his sanity. He was border-line suicidal and was depressed. Monika wanted to give him the biggest hugs just to make him feel better. At this point, Lawrence needed it and Monika didn't want to lose him, not when she needed him most. Monika then looked at Lawrence's sleeping body and blew a flying kiss before returning to her rest.

* * *

 **I feel like I could have done more with the Sims 4, if you'd like future chapters on Sims 4, go ahead.**


End file.
